Oakland Raiders: Ranking Team’s Biggest Needs Heading Into The Draft

It’s A Glaring Need, But One That Can Be Addressed In The Mid-Rounds

Given that the team allowed Latavius Murray to walk away as a free agent, and negotiations with the possibly un-retiring Marshawn Lynch hitting a big snag, the Raiders are left with a gaping hole in the backfield.

Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington are both great at what they do. But it’s more than clear that they are complimentary backs. They’re great change of pace backs and terrific taking passes out of the backfield.

But for Oakland’s ground game to function as well as it did last season – sixth best in the entire league – it’s equally clear that they need that big bodied back who can pound it between the tackles.

The big ticket guys like Leonard Fournette and Dalvin Cook are likely going to be gone by the time Oakland is on the clock. And Christian McCaffrey doesn’t necessarily fit that big bodied mold the Raiders need in the backfield for the ground game to have success.

Which means, they may be able to – and probably should – wait until the later rounds to pick up a back.

And there are three in particular that McKenzie should have his eye on – Samaje Perine, James Conner, and D’onta Foreman. All have size – Perine (5’11”, 233 pounds), Foreman (6′, 233 pounds), Conner (6’1”, 233 pounds), and can take a beating.

All three put up pretty good numbers in 2016, and all can very likely be had in the mid-to-late rounds. Of those three, Perine seems like he’d be the best fit for this team, with Foreman a close second. And only because of health concerns, is Conner third on this list.

The Raiders need a big bodied back, and all three of them would fit the bill quite nicely.